If there is no element of asceticism in our lives, if we give free rein to the desires of the flesh . . . Deitrich Bonhoffer
We shall find it hard to train for the service of Christ.
For many believers, service is an extension of their faith. It is their faith in action. Yet having the heart of a servant is a very difficult thing from the simple act of serving. The Spiritual Discipline of service is more than a radical denial of self. In choosing to be a servant, we willingly submit ourselves to the mundane, the ordinary, and the trivial. Through this, we experience many “little deaths” of reaching beyond ourselves and sacrificing for the sake of others. In many ways, true service can be more difficult than martyrdom. Yet Jesus’ words to us are very clear:
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (John 13:14-17, NIV).
Jesus is not telling us to completely do away with authority and leadership for that would be impossible. But He has “redefining leadership and rearranging the lines of authority” (Foster, 127). Jesus teaches us that there are those who have true spiritual authority, and not everyone has this authority. However, godly authority is never to be used to manipulate or control others. It is a leadership of function not of status. Yet even from a position of leadership and/or authority, we are to be servants of all.
To properly understand the discipline of service, we must clearly distinguish it from “self-righteous service:”
Self-righteous service comes through human effort. It expends immense amounts of energy calculating and scheming how to render service. . . It is impressed with the “big deal” (big projects). . . It requires external rewards. It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort. . . It is highly concerned about results. It eagerly waits to see if the person served will reciprocate in kind. It becomes bitter when the results fall below expectation.. . . It picks and chooses whom to serve. . . It insists on meeting the need even when to do so would be destructive. . . It is affected by moods and whims. It can serve only when there is a “feeling” to serve”. . . It is temporary . . . Insensitive . . . Fractures community” (Foster, 128-129).
True service is a result of giving up control; of submitting to the will of God in our lives. God uses this discipline to teach us humility. For humility is one of those character traits that can never be attained by seeking. The more we chase after it, the farther it is from us, and the minute we think we have attained it, we simply prove otherwise by our own arrogance.
True Service comes from a relationship with the divine Other deep inside. We serve out of whispered promptings, divine urgings. . . True service rests contented in hidden-ness. It does not fear the lights and blare of attention, but it does not seek them either. . . True service is indiscriminate in its ministry. It has heard the command of Jesus to be the “servant of all” (Mark 9:35). . . True service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need. . . True service is a life-style. It acts from ingrained patterns of living. . . True service builds community. It quietly and unpretentiously goes about caring for the needs of others. It draws, binds, heals, builds (Foster, 128-130).
Yet this is not to say that there is nothing that we can do. “When we set out on a consciously chosen course of action that accents the good of others and is, for the most part, a hidden work, a deep change occurs in our spirits” (Foster, 130). The result serving from a pure heart is that we become humble. For “nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hidden-ness” (Foster, 130). In as much as our “flesh” whines about service, it screams against doing service in secret. Our flesh will strain and fight for recognition and praise. To refuse to give in to these longings of the flesh is to crucify our pride and our arrogance.
In 1 John 2:16, we read:
For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world (NIV).
Of the “lust of the eyes”, C. H. Dodd says:
The “lust of the eyes” refers to the failure to discipline the natural human passions. . . “lust of the eyes” refers to “the tendency to be captivated by outward show.” He defines the “pride of life” as “pretentious egoism.” In each case the same thing is seen: infatuation with natural powers and abilities without any dependence upon God. That is the flesh in operation, and the flesh is the deadly enemy of humanity” (Dodd in Foster, 130-131).
Many people are hesitant to enter into a life of service despite Jesus’ words that all believers are to do so. In a way, we fear service, for the act of serving means that we might “be taken advantage of” or “ be walked on by others.” So we must be clear about yet another common misunderstanding.
There is a huge difference between choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant.
When we choose to serve, we are still in charge. We decide whom we will serve and when we will serve. And if we are in charge, we will worry a great deal about anyone stepping on us, that is, taking charge over us. . . . But when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of, then we cannot be manipulated. When we choose to be a servant, we surrender the right to decide who and when we will serve. We become available and vulnerable (Foster, 132).
To live out the Discipline of service is not the same things as performing specific acts of service. For the discipline of service is more than a list of things that we do for others or a code of ethics. It is an attitude that we adopt, a style of life that we choose to live.
“As in all the Disciplines, it is possible to master the mechanics of service without experiencing the Discipline” (Foster 134). To truly be servants, we must be aware of the world around us. We must understand what service our world needs so we can fill that need. Then we must seek to meet those needs; not when it is convenient for us, but whenever the divine “whispering prompts” us.
Service must be selfless. We must not expect in return. A good exercise is to read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and substitute the word service for the word love. To serve others is to act out our love for them and for our God. So these words would truly be authentic:
Service is patient, service is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. service does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Service never fails
May God bless you and keep you.
Love,
Ryan
All Richard Foster quotes taken from Celebration of Discipline